BuiltWorlds

11/04/2025

In June of this year, Kaya AI Co-Founder & CEO Ojonimi Bako took to the stage to pitch his company in front of a panel of judges and packed room of industry experts as part of the Paris Summit Demo Day Competition.

"Construction is data heavy, but insight light," Bako said in his pitch, "our mission is to own the most complex construction value processes end-to-end, and create a simplistic way of understanding user intent and connecting that to action."

The AI-powered solution aims to streamline every phase of construction to keep projects on track and under control. Bako's pitch even included a short demonstration of a conversation between a user and Jarvis, Kaya AI’s interface that can communicate in over 60 languages. Watch the full pitch: https://builtworlds.com/videos/demo-drop-kaya-ai-2/

We're looking forward to connecting with Ojonimi, as well as many other founders and entrepreneurs from around the industry, at the upcoming BuiltWorlds Venture East Conference. Join us November 19-20 in Boston, Mass., to take the temperature of the construction startup ecosystem in 2025! Register now: https://builtworlds.com/event/2025-venture-east/

Do you have the next standout industry startup? Apply to demo at a BuiltWorlds Demo Day Competition: https://share.hsforms.com/1PUsGasuMRqqfIAFEZQr4xw7rku

11/03/2025

The inaugural Munich AI Conference that took place earlier this month in Munich, Germany, included a very competitive Demo Day spotlighting innovative AEC startups and entrepreneurs from around the region. Dr. Evan Petkov, co-founder and CEO of Switzerland-based real estate decision intelligence solution Optiml, cut through the impressive lineup of pitches and won the competition.

"Data is everywhere. Decision making is not structured within (companies)," Petkov explained in his pitch. "We realized that the industry needs a system of action software...something that's able to pull data from several different places." Judges were impressed with the software's aim to empower asset managers, investors, and consultants to optimize Capex planning, creating cost-effective, reliable, and low CO2 investment strategies.

Please help us in congratulating Dr. Evan Petkov and the rest of the Optiml team and watch the full Optiml pitch:

Optiml Co-Founder and CEO Evan Petkov impressed the judges of the Munich AI Conference Demo Day Competition, taking home the top prize for his pitch. Optiml’s real estate decision intelligence …

10/31/2025

We're excited to share a spotlight on some of the early- and later-stage startups that will be in attendance at this year's Venture East Conference, happening November 19-20 in Boston, Mass.! Our Venture Conference series connects innovators and entrepreneurs with investors, capital, and corporate leaders across the architecture, engineering, construction and operations sectors through a variety of channels throughout the event.

Like most of our events, this year's Venture East will include our signature Demo Day Competition will showcase several startup pitches in front of a panel of expert judges, and our schedule of programming includes built-in networking breaks to allow for further discussion. However, attendees of Venture East also have a unique, structured opportunity for scheduled meetings between investors and startups through Dealmaker's Alley.

Don't miss out on the chance to connect with the next great AEC startup!
Learn more about Venture East and register as a member: https://builtworlds.com/event/2025-venture-east/

Register as a non-member: https://app.moonclerk.com/pay/455ia0cvwz3a

10/30/2025

📣 Early-bird pricing for BuiltWorlds 2025 Offsite Conference, happening December 10-11 in Phoenix, Ariz., is now live!

Join us this December for our second-annual event dedicated to all things Offsite Construction. Pioneering contractors, engineers, designers, and material providers and suppliers will converge for lively panel sessions, small working groups, site visits, unique networking opportunities, and more. See the full agenda: https://builtworlds.com/event/2025-offsite-construction-conference/

For a limited time, we are offering early-bird registration at a reduced rate. Non-members that register BEFORE November 12 will receive a 20% discount on their ticket. Don't wait! Book today: https://app.moonclerk.com/pay/69r7xn1292ei

Members registering using a member ticket can do so here: https://builtworlds.com/event/2025-offsite-construction-conference/?fl_builder&fl_builder_ui_iframe -tickets

10/29/2025

The recent 2025 BuiltWorlds Infrastructure Conference brought together public and private sector leaders across five key infrastructure verticals: data centers, airports, water & wastewater, grid & energy systems, and roads, bridges and highways. Through lively panel discussions, small working group sessions, insightful breakout sessions, and valuable networking opportunities and conversations, the conference explored and illuminated the innovations and technologies driving the next generation of infrastructure across the US and globally.

BuiltWorlds Director of Infrastructure Analysis Nick Comerford spearheaded much of the event's programming and moderated several of this year's panels, giving Nick a unique bird's-eye view of the discussions and highlights presented by experts from around the industry. Nick recently shared six key takeaways that, as he puts it, "defined this year's discussions and breakout sessions."

Key Takeaway #1: Resilience requires integration of capital, strategy and community engagement.

Reflecting on this first key takeaway, Nick writes, "Across major infrastructure sectors, resilience is no longer just about engineering—it’s about governance, communication, and social impact. Amtrak’s $55 million Community Investment Program set a new standard for inclusive development, while other agencies emphasized transparent coordination with utilities, municipalities, and residents to reduce risk and build lasting public trust."

Read the other five key takeaways and Nick's analysis: https://builtworlds.com/news/ai-asset-handover-6-key-takeaways-2025-infrastructure-conference/

10/28/2025

The BuiltWorlds team is looking forward to returning to Boston in just a few weeks for the 2025 Venture East Conference! As we prepare to meet with industry leaders, innovators and investors to explore the trends, technology and startups advancing our industry, we wanted to do something a little different and highlight the built environment where we'll be meeting. A unique blend of American history and innovation, Boston is a truly one-of-a-kind city with lots to offer attendees of Venture East by way of cuisine, entertainment, recreation, and—of course—architecture.

We're excited to share our list of buildings of note in Boston for Venture East attendees to get to know a little more about the city before and during the conference in November. Featuring several buildings designed and built by Suffolk Construction, PAYETTE, KPMB Architects, Behnisch Architekten, and Turner Construction Company, as well as some historically significant structures, this list shines a light on the buildings that have come to define Boston and illustrate the city's longstanding commitment to innovation in the built environment. We hope that you'll take the chance to visit some—or all—of these notable buildings and landmarks when you join us for this year's Venture East!

Read more about these remarkable Boston buildings and landmarks: https://builtworlds.com/news/buildings-to-visit-in-boston-during-venture-east-2025/

Learn more about our Venture East programming and register now: https://builtworlds.com/event/2025-venture-east/

10/27/2025

This year's Tokyo Global Summit has been truly one for the books, with tours of Kajima's Shodo Tunnel jobsite and Technical Research Institute, a trip to CBRE's Idea Lab for a series of collaborative roundtables, a visit to Haneda Innovation City, where we also hosted our Demo Day, and a full day of content, including a keynote from Kajima Senior Executive Officer Takaharu Fukuda, discussions on AI, robotics, sustainable infrastructure, the future workforce transition, the acceleration of venture investment across Asia, spotlight discussions centered around innovative thinking from Kajima, Obayashi Corporation, and GS E&C.

By combining education, networking, and unique experiences, our Global Summits have become a hub for connecting leading AECO decisions makers from around the world for what has come to be truly impactful collaboration. These events are where partnerships are forged and deals not only begin but close. For our historically fragmented industry, the Global Summits serve as something of a magnet, attracting and uniting like minds under the shared goal of practical innovation for a better built environment.

We'd like to thank everyone that contributed to the event, including our speakers, startup presenters and sponsors—Kajima, CALMFLOOR, Dell Technologies, NVIDIA, Obayashi, GS Futures, Trusstor (powered by DAITEC), and WakeCap—whose generosity, support, and insights make events like these possible. We'd also like to thank our attendees, whose passion for innovation fuels our own.

Even though we're still reeling from the success of this year's event, we're already planning for next years. So please let us know if you're an industry veteran or SME that'd be interested in speaking at next year's Tokyo Global Summit, an entrepreneur interested in demoing your startup, or a company looking to gain some international exposure by sponsoring.

Speaker application: https://builtworlds.com/speak/

Startup application: https://share.hsforms.com/1PUsGasuMRqqfIAFEZQr4xw7rku

Sponsor interest form: https://share.hsforms.com/113217fKHRtyYfzz1U-hosA7rku

See you next year!

10/24/2025

The inaugural BuiltWorlds Munich AI Conference brought together leaders from across the built environment to explore AI in Europe's built world ecosystem. In a unique fireside chat session, Briq Co-Founder and CEO Bassem Hamdy sat down with our very own Rosemarie Lipman to discuss where business owners should begin their AI journey, emphasizing tangible innovations with clear ROI, rather than investing in high-profile but low-impact initiatives.

We're excited to make the recording of this session public. Watch the full fireside chat: https://builtworlds.com/videos/munich-ai-conference-2025-afternoon-fireside-chat/

10/23/2025

The 2025 BuiltWorlds Venture East Conference is coming up fast and our speaker lineup has taken shape. This year's event, which brings together leading venture fund managers, corporate executives, strategic investors, and founders, promises to take the pulse of the industry's startup ecosystem and offers programming that examines the trends, challenges, and opportunities industry startups are facing. Want to join in the conversation?
Member registration: https://builtworlds.com/event/2025-venture-east/
Non-member registration: https://app.moonclerk.com/pay/455ia0cvwz3a

As we get closer to the event, we're excited to highlight some of the upcoming panels:

🟢 Is AI Eating the World?
Hear from Ty Findley (Ironspring Ventures), Tom Scarangello (Thornton Tomasetti), René Morkos, Ph.D. (ALICE Technologies), and Patrick Lalonde (EllisDon Corporation) in a discussion focused on how artificial intelligence is reshaping processes, unlocking new efficiencies, and creating both challenges and opportunities for companies in the built environment.

🟢 Lookback / Lookahead
Join Audrey Pinkerton (NEXII), Vikas Enti (Reframe Systems), Sarah Buchner (Trunk Tools), and Bassem Hamdy (Briq), as they share candid reflections on their journeys as built environment entrepreneurs, including insights into what it takes to scale in the built world.

🟢 The Trillion-Dollar Question: How to Make AI Work for Corporate Innovation & Core Business Modernization
Moderated by Nolan Browne (ADL Ventures), this panel made up of Ben Hershey (4Ward Solutions Group), Erik Allen (Echelon), and Jack Moran (Consigli Construction Co., Inc.) will highlight real-world critical construction challenges that could yield major profitability and productivity gains through AI.

🟢 Checking in With Leading Accelerators
Hear from Parker Mundt (Suffolk Technologies), Aki MANDA (Kajima), David A. Frankel 📈 🏗️🦅 (Trimble Inc.), Grant McCullagh (Thornton Tomasetti), and Bhragan Paramanantham (Formwork Labs) as they discuss their approaches, cohort successes, and the evolving needs of startups in construction and built environment tech.

See the full agenda and lineup of speakers: https://builtworlds.com/event/2025-venture-east/

10/15/2025

The 2025 BuiltWorlds Tokyo Global Summit is in full swing! We have had a great start to the event with several site visits, including tours of the Kajima Technical Research Institute, CBRE Idea Lab, and Haneda Innovation City!

It was great connecting with so many people at last night's Demo Day and reception hosted at Haneda Innovation City. Later today, we'll kick off the rest of our programming with an insightful keynote delivered by Kajima Executive Mr. Takaharu Fukuda, followed by several engaging panels and breakout sessions covering the most pressing issues facing our industry in Japan and around the world. Stay tuned for more updates from Japan, including this year's Demo Day Winner!

As always, thank you to our sponsors for helping make this event such a success: Kajima, CALMFLOOR, Dell Technologies, NVIDIA, Obayashi Corporation, GS Futures, Trusstor Division (powered by Daitec), WakeCap

See the full session agenda: https://builtworlds.com/event/2025-tokyo-summit/

10/13/2025

The BuiltWorlds Weekly Deal Tracker, part of our Insights newsletter series, highlights three current deals shaping the AEC ecosystem. Take a look at the most recent deals featured in our newsletter ⤵️

ConCntric, the first AI-powered preconstruction platform, announced it has raised a $10 million Series A funding round led by 53 Stations with participation from Argonautic Ventures and other strategic investors. This investment will accelerate ConCntric’s mission to create a preconstruction ecosystem that unites data, workflows, and people to provide a single-source of truth and drive more efficient and confident decision-making during project planning.

OpenSolar, a software platform serving more than 25,000 solar installer businesses in over 160 countries, announced new equity financing from leading technology investors including Titanium Ventures, Google, 2150 Sustainability Fund, and other investors.

OpusFlow, the all-in-one platform for renewable energy installers, has raised €3.8 million in growth capital from lead investor Move Energy, Rise PropTech, and existing investor Peak. The oversubscribed funding round follows a €1.7 million investment led by Peak in July 2024. The new capital will help OpusFlow strengthen its efforts in existing markets – namely the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Spain, and the UK – and pursue further international expansion.

Want more info on what's happening in AEC venture and investing? Members of the BuiltWorlds Venture & Investment Research Track have access to even more information on recent deals through the Venture Dashboard: https://builtworlds.com/insights/venture-dashboard/

If you're interested in learning more about venture activity in the AEC space as well as connecting with the industry's top investors and decision makers, join us at our upcoming Venture East event in Boston: https://builtworlds.com/event/2025-venture-east/

10/09/2025

What a day we've had in Germany! It's the inaugural BuiltWorlds Munich AI Conference, held in major partnership with Nemetschek Group at their offices in Munich, and we couldn't have asked for more insightful speakers and roundtable discussion leaders. From optimizing scheduling and enhancing risk management to conceptual modeling and generative design, these panels and smaller discussions explored the use of AI in Europe's built environment today and in the future.

We'd like to thank our sponsors for this event Nemetschek Group and Briq for helping to make today possible. We'd also like to thank our speakers, demo presenters and judges for joining us today, sharing their time and perspectives with the BuiltWorlds network. Finally, we'd like to thank our staff—especially our members team currently in Munich—for their hard work in putting together today's programming and facilitating the event. If you're at the conference, we hope you join us for tonight's reception!

Stay tuned for more takeaways, photos, and updates of the event—including our Demo Day Competition winner!